Nottingham Forest will visit a Bristol City side in turmoil on Saturday.
There is fans’ disillusionment towards the board and poor form on the pitch, not helped by a chronic injury list which at one stage contained 19 players.
There is also uncertainty over the future of manager Nigel Pearson, who was appointed in February on a deal until the end of the season, with the club hierarchy are still weighing up whether to extend the contract of the former Leicester City boss.
That injury crisis has eased slightly but ahead of Saturday’s game at Ashton Gate, the Robins still have 11 players on the sidelines.
That list includes former Forest midfielder Jamie Paterson, who hasn’t figured since February 23 due to a groin issue.
On his chances of returning before the end of the season, BristolLive reports : “The playmaker had an excellent 2020 under Lee Johnson and then Dean Holden but a hip and now groin injury has denied him the chance to impress [Nigel] Pearson.
“There's been no fresh information regarding the status of the 29-year-old and, albeit leaning on the side of speculation, he hasn't been visible in any of the Robins promotional materials regarding the High Performance Centre.”
Meanwhile, the players who are fit aren’t taking the charge to impress Pearson, who replaced the sacked Dean Holden.
The Robins were beaten 3-1 by relegation-threatened Coventry City on Monday - their third defeat in a row.
Pearson said his players didn’t “compete” with the Sky Blues and insisted his side are still not safe from relegation, despite sitting 14 points above the drop zone.
“We just didn’t compete with them. We’re not capable, at the moment, of physically competing with sides who are relatively physical,” conceded Pearson, who added: “We’re not safe.”
